Dental moisture shield



\ Aug. 1951 v c. P. POHLAND 2,563,361

* DENTAL MOISTURE SHIELD Filed June 12. -1950 Carl I? Pan/0nd INVENTOR.

Patented Aug. 7, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT; OFFICE DENTAL MOISTURE SHIELD Carl 1. Pohland, Sheboygan, Wis.

Application June 12, 1950, Serial No. 167,600

4 Claims.

suitably spaced teeth, preferably the first bicuspids, an important feature of the invention residing in means for adjusting the device so as to accommodate difierent sizes and spacing of teeth.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of means on the device for sustaining absorbent elements or pads thereon.

Some of the advantages of the invention lie in its simplicity of construction, as aforesaid, in its eflicient operation, and in its adaptability to economical manufacture.

With the above more important objects and features in view and such other objects and features as may become apparent as this specification proceeds, the invention consists essentially of the arrangement and construction of parts as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an underside plan view of the invention in situ in a patients mouth.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the invention per se, and

Figure 3 is a sectional view, taken substantially in the plane of the line 33 in Figure 2.

Like characters of reference are employed to designate like parts in the specification and throughout the several views.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the invention consists of a dental moisture shield which is designated generally by the reference character I and embodies in its con struction an elongated support member I2 pro vided at the opposite ends thereof with a pair of tooth receiving sockets I 4.

The member I2 simply consists of a pair of complemental straps I6, I8 which have overlapped inner end portions as is best shown in Figure 2, the strap I6 being provided with a clamping screw 20 which extends through a slot 22 in the strap I8, so that by simply loosening this screw, the length of the support member I2 may be increased or decreased and the distance between the two sockets I4 may be correspondingly varied to conform to the transverse spacing of two teeth (prefwith a pair of spaced shoulders 36 at the opposite sides of the inner jaw 26,'s0 that axial sliding or shifting of the screw 32 in the aperture 34 is not possible.

By virtue of the screw 32, the outer jaws 28 are not-only connected to the inner jaws 26, but also, the distance of the outer jaws from the inner jaws may be varied so as to accommodate therebetween teeth of different sizes. It is to be noted that the jaws 26, 28 preferably have concave opposing surfaces which are frictionally engageable with opposite sides of a tooth so as to sustain the entire device in position in the patients mouth.

Substantially semi-circular keeper prongs 38 and further, arcuate keeper prongs 40 are provided on the straps I6, I8 of the support member I2 to accommodate a roll or pad of absorbent material 42 and to sustain the same in position against the palate 44, while additional keeper prongs 46 are provided on the outer jaws 28 to accommodate an absorbent element or roll 48 placed between the patients lip' and front teeth, as shown in Figure l.

It is believed that the advantages and use of the invention will be clearly understood from the foregoing disclosure and accordingly, further description thereof at this point is deemed unnecessary.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention, it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a dental moisture shield, the combination of an elongated support member, means for lengthening and shortening the same, a pair of expansible and contractible tooth receiving sockets provided at the respective opposite ends of said member, means for expanding and contracting said sockets, and means on said member and on said sockets for attaching absorbent elements thereto.

2. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein 3 each of said sockets comprises a pair of spaced jaws movable toward and away from each other and adapted to frictionally engage opposite sides of atooth.

3. In a dental moisture shield, the combination of an elongated support member, means for lengthening and shortening the same, a pair of expansible and contractible tooth receiving sockets provided at the respective opposite ends of said-member; each socketiinciiiding -an inner jaw secured to the member, an outer jaw spaced from said inner jaw, and a clamping screw adjustably connecting the outer jaw to the inner jaw whereby the jaws may be frictionaily engagedi No references cited. 

